[vidarh]

That would have been a somewhat less ridiculous explanation for The Matrix. "Oh, those vats full of humans? They're our neural network cloud".

[jessaustin]

Yes, and considering that The Fall of Hyperion was published in 1990, that scenario should have been obvious to the Wachowskis.

[eli_gottlieb]

It was actually what they intended, before the execs told them audiences wouldn't understand it.

[vidarh]

Not surprising, considering I had relatively techie friends that were absolutely mindblown by concepts like pervasive virtual reality (never mind taking the next step beyond the Matrix to "uploading"). I was utterly taken aback at the realisation of just how foreign ideas like that were to people that weren't steeped in SF.

[jessaustin]

"Humans are used as batteries."

"Humans are used as computer chips."

Neither statement really makes any sense without some creative thinking. Execs are weird.